Fruit and labour

With a new season of fruit acquiring ‘red cheeks’ in the orchard, it was time to prepare storage space in the cellar for summer preservation. Looking at the laden shelves of jams, pickles, preserves, cordials and liqueurs, it was clear that I had been busy over the past couple of seasons.

Preparing the empty jars for chutneys, jams and the like, I realised that I needed to research more recipes to keep the variety on the shelves interesting. This year, I will make special vinegars to use for pickling the olives.

With the new regime of deploying fruit fly bait stations in the fruit trees, I hope to harvest healthy crops for preserving. This may enable me to extend the seasonal fruit flavours in our meals.

With the cellar cleaned and repacked, we could relax in the knowledge that we are ready to get busy again.